Apparatus fob distributing powder



June 112, 1923.

. J. F. LEMONS APPARATUS Pon DISTRIBUTING POWDER Piied oct. 14, 1922' 2 sheets-sheet gnvento'o /bEE/Uh FL/51270175 June l2, 1923.

J. F. LEMONS APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING POWDER Filed Oct. 14. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented .lune r12, 1923.

NETE

FFH@

JOSEPH F. LEMONS, OF ADAMS, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO COLEMAN R. LEMONS, OF ADAMIS, TENNESSEE.

APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING POWDER.

Application led October 14, 1922.

[o all whom t may conce/rn.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH F. LnMoNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Adams, in the county of Robertson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Apparatus for Distributing Powder, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to apparatus for use in the discharge of powder, in a cloud, upon all forms oi vegetation to destroy the destructive agencies of the vegetation.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of this character capable of being conveniently carried by the operator for discharging the powder in a dust like cloud upon the plant in a manner to reach all portions of the plant.

It is another object of the invention to provide a device oit' this character including` an outlet member arranged to support the operating 4means of the device within convenient reach of the operator.

It is a Jfurther object ot' the invention to provide a device of this character including a hopper in which agtating means are mounted, the agitating means being operable by the operating means ot' the device.

1With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more particularly described, fully claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus t'or distributing powder constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

. Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan View;

kFigure 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 8; and

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates 50 a casing substantially in the form of a drum including sidemembers 6 and 7 vand a peripheral member 8. Projecting from the peripheral member 8 is an outlet member 9, said member consisting of a longitudinally 55 tapered conduit, the conduit having a handle seriai no. 594,484.

member 10 projecting from its outer end portion at right angles to the conduit. The side member 6 of the casing is provided with a centrally disposed inlet opening 11, while the side member 7 is provided with a centrally disposed slot 12.

A hopper 13 is provided, said hopper including a iront wall 14, side walls 15 and upwardly inclined rear wall 16. The front wall 14 of the hopper is secured to the upper portion of the side member 6 of the drum so that the bottom 17 ot the hopper terminates adjacent the inlet opening 11. The bottom 17 of the hopper has a substantially semi-circular outlet opening 18.

Disposed beneath the hopper and secured to the hopper and the side 6 of the drum is avchute 19, the side 2O of the chutehaving slot 21 disposed centrally of the upper edge of said side, while the side 22 of the chute is provided with a slot 23 which extends through the-rear end of said side. rihe rear end portion of the chute is open to admit air.

Disposed centrally of the bottom 17 of the hopper and interiorly of the hopper is an agitating disc 24, said disc having a semicircular opening 25. A sheet of screen fabric 26 is secured to the upper tace of the disc 24, said screen extending over the opening 25. Extending transversely of the central portion of the opening 25 is a blade 27 adapted to engage the material within the hopper so as to agitate the same and cause movement of the material through the opening 25 and the opening 18 in the bottom oi' the hopper.

The disc 24 is rotatably mounted within the hopper, the shaft 28 ot the disc extending through the bottom oi the hopper and is intended to support a valve member 29.v This valve member consists of a disc 30 having a semi-circular opening 81 adapted at times to register with the opening 18 in the bottom of the hopper. The disc 30 is also provided with an operating handle 32 by means of which the size of the opening in the bottom of the hopper may be increased or decreased. The handle 32 is intended to extend into the slot 23 of the side 22 of the chute so as to permit the operator to readily manipulate the valve from the side of the hopper.

Extending through the slot 21. of t-he side 20 of the chute is a lever 33, said lever being secured to the shaft 28 below the valve 30.

v central opening of the gear 41.

The end lportion 34 of the lever Biis provided with an opening 35 for a purpose to be hereinafter described, that portion of the end portion adjacent lthe opening being cut away so as to prevent contact of thelever 33 with the adjacent portio-n of the drum. By this means the contents vof the hopper is discharged into the chiite and drawn into the drum from the chute.

In order that the contents of the hopper may be' drawn into the drum and discharged tended lto house a bevelA gear 48 from which a shaft 44 extends. The housing 36 is adapted to extendinto `the slot 12 of the side 7 of the drinn, halfof the housing being disposed inwardly of the drum and half outwardly of the drum.

The central portion of said housing or that portion disposed in engagement with the outer face of the sidel 7 of the housing His provided with flanges 45 for thereception of fastening means 4,6 for securing the housingto the di'uni. The end of the shaft 4.4 is intended to ieceive a fan, said fan comprising strips 47 and 48 which are offset at their central portions and provided with registering openings adapted to receive the shaft 42. These strips are disposedv parallel to the sides of-the drum. The end portions of each strip are provided with slits 49 Vof said blades vare proi'f'idedA with upturiied flanges 5l which assist the blades in distributing the contents of the drum.

The lowersection 38 of the gear housing is providedwith a shaft housing 52, the shaft housing being disposed adjacent the Carried by` thesides 7 of the drum is a shaft housing 53, said housing extending outwardly in the direction of the outlet member 9. Disposed within the housing 53 is a shaft 54, said` shaftextending through the shaft housing 52 of the section 38 and through the gear housing and 'beyond thel edge of the side 7. Y

Connected 'to the end 55 vofthe shaft 54 is a crank member 56, on which a connecting rod 57 is mounted.` The end of the rod 57 is extended at rightangles to theshaft 54 and is adapted to extend into the opening 35 of thelever. v

Carried by the outer end portion `of the outlet member 9 are clamps 58 and 59, while secured tothe bight portion of said clamps :is a connectingmernber 60. Carried by the connecting member above the clamp 58 is a plate 6lv which projects ,beyond the connecting member and the clamp and has abearing 62 providedv on its end portion adapted to receive the end portion of the shaft 54. The outer end n portion of the shaft housing 53 is also secured to the plate 61.`

Carried by the end portion 63 of the shaft 54 is a bevel gear 65. Secured to the coniiecfting member 60 above the clamp 59 is a bearing member 66 in which a shaft 67 is journaled. .fr relatively large gearv 68 is se# cured to one end 'of the shaft, 'while an. i

operating handle 89 is vsecured to the opposite end of the shaft. The hopperv l8is pro-` vided with a cover y70 which is mountedv in o'uides formed at the upper ends of the hopper. f

rrlhe side ofthe hopper adjacent the outlet member 9 is provided with a lug 7l, while the lower central portion of the outlet inembei' 9 is also provided with an eye`72.

strap provided for supporting thfegun. This strap has snapv fasteners y74 at its end portions for engagement with the eyes"7l and 72. This strap alsoprovided with a buckle 75 to permit adjustment of the strap to suit the operator. i

in order to permit thematerial or 'powder to be discharged on the desiredplant, re gardless of the 'size of the plant, withouti'equiring'the operator to stoop, there is provided an outlet vextension 76. This extenf sion` similar to theoutlet 9, is'longitudinal-` ly tapered, the endportion 7 of saidexteiision being adapted tov receive the outer end of the extension 9. The opposite end 78 of the extension is provided with a spread/er 79 which is inclined with respect to theV end 78 of the extension so thaty the powder is discharged against the spreaderand caused to radiate from the spreader into a cloud.

ln' the operation of the device the hopper is filled with any desired insecticide or powder and the device supported from the shoulder-of the operator by mea'iisl of the strap 73. The opei'at ii1tliefn rotates the gear 68 through the vmedium of the liandle..69, thus rotating the shaft 54 and causiiigr'otaf tion of the fan through the medium of the gears 40 and 43. By this means the air is sucked through the chute intoothle difumfand i, with the aira quantityjof the material'discharged from the bottom of the hopper. Upon each rotation vof theshaft '54, "the agitatiiig disc 24 within the hopperis turned through the medium ofthe crank 57, so` that there isv no possibility of the material "sticking in the hopper. vTo stop ,thddischarge of the material it is only necessary'to aotuate the valve 30 toA close the bottom of the hopper..v g r g A VFrom the foregoing it will be readily, seen lthat this invention provides Va1 novel". apparatus vfor use in the destruction lof in'- sects and i like destructive agencies, yand Ul i iio4

wherein the contents are discharged from the gun by considerable pressure generated by the fan without unnecessary effort on the part of the operator. The cloud formed through the medium of thespreader .79 is capable of reaching ail portions of the plant. All of these features are possessed by an apparatus which is simple in construction and compact in form and which may be conveniently carried by the op erator.

What is claimed is l. An apparatus for distributing powder comprising a casing having an inlet opening in one side wall thereof, a hopper carried by one side of the casing, a chute .disposed beneath the hopper for directing matter from the hopper through the inlet opening, an outlet conduit carried by the casing vremote from the hopper, a gear housing extending through the opposite side wall of the casing and terminating centrally of the casing, a driven shaft projecting from that portion of the gear housing within the casing, a fan carried by said shaft, a driving shaft extending through that portion of the gear housing disposed exteriorly of the casing, operating means carried by the outlet conduit for rotating the driving shaft, and gear means disposed within the gear housing and operatively connecting the driving shaft to the driven shaft.

2. in apparatus for distributing powder comprising a casing, a hopper carried by one side of the casing, a chute disposed beneath the hopper for directing matter from the hopper into the casing, an outlet conduit carried by the casing remote from the hopper, a gear housing mounted in the opposite side of the casing, a driven shaft projecting from said gear housing within the casing, a fan carried by said shaft, a driving shaft extending through said gear housing exteriorly of the casing, operating means carried by the outlet conduit for ro tating the driving shaft, gear means disposed within the gear housing and operatively connected to the driving shaft for rotating the driven shaft, agitating means disposed within the hopper, a lever extending from said agitating means, and means carried by the end of the driving shaft and operatively connected to said lever for oscillating the agitating means.

3. An apparatus for distributing powder comprising a casing, a hopper carried by one side of the casing, a chute disposed beneath the hopper for direct-ing matter from the hopper into the casing, an outlet conduit carried by the casing remote from the hopper, a gear housing mounted in the opposite side of the casing, a driven shaft projecting from said gear housing Within the casing, a fan carriedby said shaft, a driving shaft extending through said gear housing exteriorly of th-e casing, operating means carried by the outlet conduit for rotating the driving shaft, gear means disposed within the gear housing and operatively connected to the driving shaft for rotating the driven shaft, agitating means disposed lwithin the hopper, a lever extending from said agitating means, a crank member carried by one end of the driving shaft, a link connected to said crank, said link being operatively connected to the lever of the agitatying means for oscillating said agitating means.

4. An apparatus for distributing powder comprising a casing, a fan rotatably mounted in the casing, an outlet conduit carried by the casing, a hopper carried by the casing, an outlet opening in the bottom of the hopper, an inlet opening in the side of the casing adjacent the bottom of the hopper, a chute disposed beneath the hopper, the end of said chute being open to admit air into the casing, an agitating disc mounted on the bottom of the hopper, a lever secured to the shaft of the agitating disc and extending through the chute, a valve carried by the shaft of the agitating disc beneath the bottom of the hopper, a driving shaft mountedv on the casing, and means operatively connecting the driving shaft with the lever of the agitating disc.

In testimony whereof hereunto affix my signature.

JOSEPH F. LEMONS. 

